Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before

For those of us who endured our game against Livingston on Sunday there will have most definitely been a feeling of Deja vu. What unfolded in front of us on was nothing new as we watched Rangers struggle to break down a team intent on stopping us playing and with no desire to try and win the game for themselves. It is something we have encountered on numerous occasions in the last couple of seasons and perhaps most worryingly, we appear to be no closer to finding a solution to the problem.

The result on Sunday itself is not disastrous, particularly at this stage of the season, but the manner of how the points were dropped does allow the Rangers support to ask legitimate questions of our manager and his coaching staff. On Sunday Livingston set up with effectively a 6-3-1 formation and invited Rangers to find, or create, a gap in their defensive wall.  

This is not a new problem facing Steven Gerrard and the coaching team but not for the first time under their stewardship Rangers failed to find a way to break down the block. There was a lack of tempo and urgency from the team to get the important first goal, too many players took the safe option, and there was a general lack of creativity. On the very few occasions that did we manage to create an opportunity we were not clinical in front of goal. Alarmingly these same problems have littered previous games where teams ‘sit in’ and try and stop us playing and it is the failure to address these problems that supporters have vented their frustrations at.  

Supporters are, understandably, questioning both the tactics and the players deployed in these games.  Rangers employed their usual 4-3-3 formation against Livingston despite the fact it has proved unsuccessful in previous fixtures where teams sit in and stifle the Rangers side. Sunday also saw two holding players deployed in central midfield despite the opposition providing little attacking intent or threat. The predictability of Rangers style and the lack of surprise in both formation and personnel has been discussed on this blog before. Why, if we know that a team is going to sit do we not play two strikers? Why do we feel the need to play two holding midfielders?  

The blame for Sunday's performance cannot lay squarely at the foot of the manager though. He was once again let down by some of his players. The midfield three of Hagi, Jack and Kamara were poor throughout the game with only Kamara producing a credible performance. Hagi did not show anything like the kind of performance that we know he is capable of and it's fair to say his start to the season has been rather subdued. Ryan Jack looks a shadow of the player he was at the start of 2020 and there must be a marked improvement in his performances in the coming weeks to justify his position in the team. Alfredo Morelos once again looked out of sorts which was disappointing after a much-improved performance against St Mirren in midweek. The transfer saga surrounding him is in danger of clouding his relationship with the supporters and it would appear a resolution needs to be found to the situation before we see Morelos return to the kind of form we know he is capable of. 

Despite the dropped points on Sunday it is still a solid start to the season for Rangers. We have yet to concede a goal in the league and for the 1st time in several years it would appear Alan McGregor has real competition for the No1. jersey. Jon McLaughlin looks like an excellent signing and giving McGregor some genuine competition has been long overdue. Borna Barasic continues to excel and only an outstanding save stopped him from scoring another wonderful free kick on Sunday, Ryan Kent has also started the season strongly and despite his miss near the end of the game against Livingston was once again one of our better players.  

The players and management team have a rare free midweek and we can only hope they use it wisely as they prepare for the visit of Kilmarnock on Saturday. Whilst Sunday was undoubtedly a poor performance and ultimately a disappointing result, three points at home to Kilmarnock will set us back on track. We must remember that the league season is a marathon not a sprint and there will be many more twists and turns before the end of the season. If we were to look back at any title winning season, there will always be occasions when points are dropped. Currently we sit top of the league and can cement this position with a victory on Saturday at Ibrox. 

WDTCR 

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Let's go (again)

It seems a very long time since I sat down to write an entry to Walking Down the Copland Road. Looking back, it was in fact the 8th March and the blog covered our 1-0 defeat to Hamilton (which had come only days after an ignominious defeat to Hearts in the Scottish Cu) and our scrappy 1-0 victory away to Ross County. I pulled no punches in the blogpost stating that had we not won against Ross County, questions would be asked about Steven Gerrard's position. I finished by asking the players to demonstrate to us, the supporters, that they knew what it was to be a Ranger by giving us performances we could be proud of in our next two fixtures vs Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League and Celtic in the league.   

The 8th March may well have been the last 'normal' day I had in 2020.  By the time the 1st leg of the Leverkusen game was played Scotland was firmly in the grip of Coronavirus.  The buildup to the game had been remarkably low key, considering we were about to play a last 16 Europa League tie, and there was a feeling among many that the game shouldn't even being taking place. The game however did go ahead and those who were at Ibrox that night watched one of the best visiting teams at Ibrox for some considerable time as Leverkusen secured a comfortable 3-1 victory. Despite the strangeness of the situation I doubt anyone believed the 2nd leg of the Leverkusen game would not take place until the start of August.  

The Coronavirus global pandemic has changed every aspect of our life and that includes football and what it means to be a football supporter. In Scotland supporters were denied the opportunity to see the season finished on the field as the SPFL oversaw a comedic and deeply damaging episode which resulted in Celtic being crowned '*champions'. 8 1/2 titles do not quite have the same ring to it as 9 if you ask me. Following the enforced end to season 19/20 and the legal wrangling that followed there were times when it looked like season 20/21 may not start at all. 

Yet come the beginning of August we finally got our beloved game back and more importantly got our beloved Rangers back. We may not be back with the team at Ibrox and at stadiums around Scotland, but we do have football back on our screens and the opportunity once again to bring home league title number 55. Our quest for 55 began at Pittodrie, not a particularly happy hunting ground for Rangers under Steven Gerrard, but 3 points were secured following Ryan Kent's cool finish having been set free by Alfredo Morelos. 

Following the trip to Aberdeen it was time, to finally, play the 2nd leg of the Europa League tie against Bayer Leverkusen.  The 2nd leg was almost as surreal as the 1st leg as the game took on the feeling of a pre-season friendly, particularly after Leverkusen scored at the start of the 2nd half. It was a disappointing end to what was a wonderful and exhilarating campaign in Europe and the strides that the team took in this competition should not be underestimated. Rangers proved in this campaign that they are ready to take their seat back at the top end of European football. 

And then to Sunday and our first home league game behind closed doors. Seeing Ibrox empty for a first team game is not something any of us wish to see but such is the grip the gobal pandemic has on so many aspects of our life. Thankfully due to the new arrangement allowing fans to access games via Rangers TV many of us were able to watch the game live even if we couldn't be there in person. We witnessed a routine 3-0 victory to maintain a positive start to the league campaign and we can look forward to our next home game versus St Johnstone on Wednesday with confidence. 

So, what have we learned at the start of this season? Firstly, Leon Balogun looks, on his first couple of outings, an excellent purchase. He strolled through his debut at Pittodrie and looked assured again versus St Mirren on Sunday. He doesn't shy away from a physical battle, has pace and seems to have slotted in with Connor Goldson like he has played with him for years. Joe Aribo, Ryan Kent and Ianis Hagi all look sharp, with Kent looking much more direct in his early showings. The fluidity and movement of all four was interesting to watch on Sunday and it was refreshing to see manager Steven Gerrard move away from his favored 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1 or even at times a 4-2-4 formation. 

The team is not quite as strong as we would like as it's becoming clear that an new midfielder is required to add some creativity and goals. Kamara and Jack, both great players, appear to be developing into two versions of the same player and particularly in games like St Mirren, it's hard to see why both are required to play. A dynamic midfielder going beyond the front four would add another dimension to our attacking play and hopefully help unlock the infamous low block. 

Finally, our strikers...New boys Roofe and Itten have yet to be given a chance to demonstrate what they can do but on paper both look like excellent signings. Roofe has an excellent record in England and Itten would appear to offer us something different to what we already have. Defoe looks like being back to fitness soon and of course a certain Alfredo Morelos, currently, remains at the club. Alfie continues to be an enigma and over the last two games we saw both the worst and best of him. He was insipid, disinterested and unenthusiastic versus Leverkusen. Compare this with his performance against St Mirren where he led the line fantastically, set up the 1st goal and then scored the 2nd and 3rd. He is an outstanding player and it remains to be seen how long we can keep hold of him - perhaps we just need to enjoy him for as long as we can. 

One of the other big positives at the start of the new season has been the broadcasting package put together by Rangers TV. With no fans being allowed in stadiums for the foreseeable future it was essential that Rangers delivered the best possible product to allow fans to see the team play. Securing the legendary commentator Clive Tyldesley was a massive statement of intent and I don't think anyone can argue that the broadcast on Sunday was anything other than thoroughly professional. 

High quality in game analysis from Kevin Thomson alongside further analysis from Neil McCann, arguably the best Scottish football pundit currently on screen, alongside bluenose Alex Rae (who whilst working for Rangers TV can firmly stick his colours to the mast) alongside insightful analysis from current first teamer Niko Katic made for an interesting and stimulating lead up to the game and then half time and full time analysis. Emma Dodds as anchor ensured the discussion remained relevant and on point, even though she may have been the coldest person in Ibrox on Sunday!  If this quality of programming can be kept up it will lessen the blow from being unable to attend Ibrox ever so slightly. 

Following the inexplicable decision of a certain Boli Bolingoil Rangers now have an early opportunity to put some pressure on Celtic. If we can win our next three fixtures, we could open a gap of 11 points before Celtic play again in the SPFL and as football fans know it’s much better to have the points in the bag than to be playing catchup. The early signs are encouraging so let's hope that continues Wednesday evening.  

And rest assured the break from blogging will not be so long this time! 

WDTCR

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